Love, Unintended
by yellowJsquid
Summary: Ri/So. M for later. Ritsuka and Soubi deal with their changing relationship- especially when Seimei complicates things. Soubi needs to choose.
1. Chapter 1

Night was coming earlier every day. The fall was setting in and the cold and snow would follow soon. There was only so much time left for outings like this one, the tall man mused as he gazed at the ignited evening sky.

"Soubi."

The tall blonde looked over his shoulder at the slim boy following him. Even now after all their time together, Soubi found Ritsuka's insisted lack of suffix on his name enchanting. "Mm?"

"You still haven't told me where we're going. It better be close! I only have until six to be home." Ritsuka muttered. The young teen had balked when Soubi had come to his window to invite him on an adventure, but those pleading eyes and beckoning hands had the curious boy intrigued. Now he found himself following his partner to some unknown place as the sun sunk low. Walking for some unknown length of time was making him testy.

"I said it's a surprise, Ritsuka-chan." The fighter slowed his gait to let his young liege catch up. "We're almost there, I promise."

He noticed Ritsuka do a tiny eye-roll at the P-word. Even he knew his promises were less than reliable, but on this occasion he was certain to follow through. He hitched up the satchel he had lugged along and turned the corner to reach their destination.

"In we go!" he crooned happily to his charge. Ritsuka took one look at the sign and yelped.

"A bath house! Soubi, I have a shower at _home_! I don't want to use a bath house!" He tried to step back but his escort tugged at his elbow and pulled him into the gleaming lobby. Porcelain and ceramic ruled here, giving the place a squeaky-clean but cold appearance. Soubi paid no attention to the boy's whines as he handed over sufficient funds for their admittance, and the old lady behind the front counter directed them to the men's side.

Ritsuka moaned the whole way inside. "What if someone I know sees me here? These places are for old men!"

Soubi pouted at the accusation. "I like these places. They're communal and sacred... I come here very often, in fact." Soubi led his sacrifice to a locker and set down his satchel.

The two disrobed until they were covered only in small towels (Ritsuka with reluctance which gave way to resignation) and Soubi revealed what had been in his satchel all along- soaps and shampoos as well as a rubber ducky "To keep you entertained, Ritsuka-chan".

At such an odd evening hour there weren't many men besides them. Two older gentlemen soaking in the almost swimming pool sized bath, and a couple of gents using the sinks. Soubi invited his muse to join him at one of the taps as well.

"It's common courtesy to wash yourself before you soak. That way, the water stays clean." He purred.

"I know that, Soubi. Don't talk to me like I'm a child." Ritsuka huffed, betraying his youth even as he denied it.

The blonde grabbed a bucket and filled it with warm water, dumping it over the adorable boy's head. Sputtering, the youth shrieked and then proceeded to do the same to Soubi, who reciprocated by playfully throwing the rubber ducky at the boy. The two snickered and the fighter glowed upon seeing a smile on his unwilling date's face. For him, that was what he'd hoped to get out of the boy for this experience all along. Not wasting time to let the moment fade, he pushed Ritsuka's stool with his foot to make the boy jolt, almost falling off.

"Aah, Soubi no! Haha!" a small flush crept onto the man's face as the boy giggled. It was his favourite sound the sacrifice made.

'So far...' a small voice in his head whispered. Yes, favourite sound so far.

He insisted on shampooing Ritsuka's hair, massaging his fingers over the scalp and around the base of the boy's ears. Ritsuka's eyes drooped then closed, making small noises in his throat at the feeling. Soubi adored the little contented noises his love made. He wished he made those noises all the time. Too soon he had to rinse the lather he'd worked up and applied the same treatment with the conditioner.

"That was nice, Soubi." The teen admitted. "Sh- should I do the same for you?" he turned his questioning indigo irises on the blonde, who was hypnotised by them.

"That's up to you, Ritsuka-chan." He gently rubbed his thumb over the boy's soft ear. Ritsuka considered, and gave a tiny smile.

"Sit where I am now Soubi, I'll do it to you!"

Ritsuka's ministrations were more pain than pleasure. The boy's fingers caught in Soubi's tangles, and pulled the shampoo through harshly. Soubi said nothing, merely enjoyed the attention.

"How do you clean it way down here? Your hair is so long!" The young one huffed as he added more and more shampoo to the tangles of straw coloured hair.

"I never noticed a change;" Soubi bit back a small sigh of pleasure as Ritsuka's fingers brushed the curve of his ear. "I just got used to it as it grew out."

When both were clean, the older man suggested a soak in the tub.

Ritsuka went ahead as Soubi put the soaps and shampoo away, and when he turned to make his way to the soaking area he froze. The raven-haired boy was pulling off his towel, letting it fall on the tiles beside the tub. He stepped up the single step that led to the tub's ledge and then over it, into the warm water inviting him in. The sight of Ritsuka's small shoulders and bottom, all canvassed by beautiful moonlike silken skin made gooseflesh arise on the man. God, the boy was beautiful. He watched as Ritsuka sank into the steaming water, enveloping him in a way Soubi wished he could.

Suddenly he was aware of the slight tent that had appeared under his own towel, and he covered it with the bag holding their bathing supplies. A few deep breaths to calm down later he approached as well. Usually he tended to keep his towel on, but he couldn't resist the urge to remove it this one time. He had to turn away once again when he caught Ritsuka's eyes flit to his nether regions then away hastily, a bright blush glowing on his cheeks.

"So, Ritsuka-chan- are you having fun?" He inquired, stepping in and sitting down beside the teen.

"Yeah," they boy sighed, leaning back against the wall. "I like baths. I could sit in a bath forever- just me and the water and peace." He looked at Soubi. "But usually I'm alone, and I like that. I don't have to deal with anyone when I'm in a bath. Not my mother or my teachers or-"

"-me?" The man cut his gaze to the boy.

"Well... no." The boy's ears went back, embarrassed. "But I don't mind you like this Soubi. Being here is different."

Soubi smiled. "I hope so. I'd hate it if there were other men in your bath at home."

The two laughed.

They soaked until Ritsuka pointed out his curfew again, and when they left the building it was dark. Streetlights hummed and cast an orange glow over the two.

"Maybe next time you come here, you'll take me again?" the flushed and still damp sacrifice probed as they leisurely strolled back.

"I was thinking maybe instead, we'd bathe at home next time, Ritsuka-chan."

The cat boy thought about it. "But why? I had fun. I can't splash so much at home." In fact, last time he'd left a puddle after bathing he'd paid the price. Unconsciously his fingers traced the spot on his chest that the bruise had been.

"No. But we can do other fun things, when it's just us."

Ritsuka looked up at his protector, but Soubi didn't meet his gaze.

"Like what, Soubi?"

"I can wash you. Or you can wash me. Have you ever felt another person when they're lathered, Ritsuka-kun?"

The boy felt the shift in his tone and meaning. The playfulness was gone, and the hot, weird feeling that the older man's probing and invasive questions usually incurred was creeping into the pit of his stomach. It was like guilt and regret and shame and... Something else. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he was sure it had something to do with how low the warmth appeared in his navel. He huffed a bit, wishing they could've ended the evening without this- without these complicated feelings.

"Yes. I think. There's a picture of Seimei and I, when I was younger and he's helping me in the bath." Although, he supposed, it didn't count as "feeling another lathered person" if he didn't actually remember the feeling. He wished he did. When Seimei had touched him, it always calmed whatever was upsetting him. Seimei's touch was warm and caring. When Ritsuka looked up at Soubi, he guessed that maybe the older man was having the same thoughts. That distant look was set on his angular features, as it often was when their conversation turned to the older Aoyagi. A small feeling of familiar jealousy tugged within him. "But that was the other Ritsuka. I wonder, if I ever fade and that Ritsuka comes back, if he'll remember bathing with you?"

There was silence for a while, and the boy wondered if he'd offended his companion with his question. Their footsteps seemed loud and the rustle of autumn leaves at their heels gave him a chill. Though the silence was thick, it was better than Soubi's searching eyes and intimate questions. The knot in his stomach was subsiding, and yet he regretted his small passive aggressive sting.

The pair reached Ritsuka's residence with just minutes to spare and they stood in the shadows in front of the door. Soubi, not wanting to leave Ritsuka, and Ritsuka not wanting to go inside.

"Th-thank you Soubi," Ritsuka murmured "For tonight." He'd had a better time than he was letting on. He wanted to tell his partner that, but couldn't find the right words. Instead, he took a small step towards the older man and fiddled with the fringe of Soubi's long coat.

"I'd do anything for you Ritsuka-chan." He leant down and pulled the youth into his arms, pressing him firmly against his chest.

Ritsuka gave an inaudible sigh and relaxed in the embrace. He was getting used to Soubi's affection, but only in the secret shadows like here in the doorway. He didn't see much point in fighting when it was just them. Soubi let go after a moment and the flash of remorse on the blonde's face at the lack of contact didn't escape Ritsuka's attention. They took a step back from each other, and Soubi slowly turned to walk away.

"Goodnight, Ritsuka-kun."

Loneliness stung the boy even as their gaze broke. How was it that this man, this infuriating man, could make him feel so lonely yet so suffocated. Isolated and intoxicated. Without meaning to he reached out and gripped his protector's sleeve.

"Ritsuka-kun?" The blonde cut his gaze back to his love and let the tugging pressure the teen was putting on his wrist guide him back down to the boy's eye level. Ritsuka looked around them, checking the street for peering eyes then slowly tilted his head up and placed the gentlest, most chaste kiss upon Soubi's stunned lips.

"Go straight home Soubi. That's an order."

The blonde returned home and went straight to his room. Kio couldn't get him to answer the door for the remainder of the evening.


	2. Chapter 2

Leaves were falling outside the classroom that Soubi sat in. The window's light splashed across his easel as he sketched the model the professor had brought in that day. She was beautiful- long dark hair and lashes, a slim body wrapped in pale skin with no tan lines marring her form. Her breasts were delicate and small, and she retained her soft dark ears and tail. Her nakedness was made somehow sweeter by their virginal presence.

And yet, Soubi didn't see her eyes, her lips. He saw only the dark, tussled hair and cat features. He saw long, slim limbs and beckoning eyes searching the world around them. His professor was circling the room, and he let out a disappointed hum when he reached Soubi's drawing. The sketch was horrible, far inferior to the blonde's usual work. Instead of the soft features of the woman in the middle of the room, there was a masculine flavour to the lines- the jaw a bit too square, the breasts too flat. The awkward transvestite on Soubi's paper would grade low, but Soubi was losing touch with the form of the model as his mind took over his art. Strong hands, one propping up a bored head while the other lazed on a tight stomach. One knee was up, tastefully blocking the genitalia- unlike the brunette model before him.

Soubi realised he had stopped looking at the woman all together. The form below his pencil was padded with lines showing the casual progression from womanly curves to sharp male features. He had erased the breasts all together.

Soubi wondered then, if it was a blessing or curse that he had trouble sketching the human form. The dark hair was long and straight but the body was large and masculine. Was this what Ritsuka was to him? Just a glimpse of his potential in the years to come? Or was it his dark passenger, the man whose grip on him clung on his every thought, every action.

He loved them both.

And here they were, mashed together as though to torment him with utter, unreachable perfection.

Soubi realised his eyes were misting, so he removed his glasses and casually wiped them. Then he took out his cell phone.

Recess was a dull time for Ritsuka. He ate a rice ball and listened to Yuiko's stories about soap operas.

It was a relief when his cell phone went off, as a reason to excuse himself from the girl's presence but he felt a knot in his stomach. He hadn't had much contact from his fighter since the weekend and he didn't want to talk about his impulsiveness. He was afraid he had invited more of Soubi's pressures, questions like feeling fingers. The memory of reaching upwards to Soubi's lips, his neck craning for the contact flitted through his mind. His brow furrowed at the thought. He didn't want to encourage the blonde, and he was sure he'd just added gasoline to the fire that was his fighter's attraction to him.

He flipped open his phone and pressed enter to open his new message.

"When will you kiss me again?"

Ritsuka closed his phone fast when he read the words, hoping no peering eyes had read the message. His face and stomach were flushed and hot. How dare that man make him feel like this? Why did he always have to say things like that?

Ritsuka opened his phone again, opening a new message box instead of replying from the received text- no reason to risk someone seeing the embarrassing message.

"Don't text me again today. That's an order. See me after class."

He sent his text and leant against the window sill, looking down at a young tree as it slowly shed it's leaves. The gentle cascade of leaves calmed the tightness in his stomach. His thumb absently stroked his phone in his pocket.

Soubi read the text and frowned. Although he had expected a reply like that, he had hoped...

He took solace in the fact that Ritsuka wanted to see him. It was Wednesday now, and the days without his sacrifice made him feel hollow. The tall man chewed on his lip, remembering the tiny, soft kiss the boy had placed there.

The class was ending, the model had long since left and the clacking sound of easels being taken down filled the class. Soubi had folded his own easel already and was packing his pencils away in his satchel when the gentle, muffled buzz of his cell phone sounded from his pocket.

"... And I will kiss you when I want to. Don't ask again."

Soubi took a moment to let the uncomfortable feeling in his trousers abide before he stood again, and exited the classroom. The rest of his school day was a fog, his mind glowing at Ritsuka's belligerence. The loved coaxing out the boy's dark side, seeing the self-assured look that indignation brought to this indigo orbs. Even Zero had noticed the change in the dark-haired boy when he was visiting Soubi and Kio's flat. When riled, instead of whining Ritsuka had begun to bite back, or take control of what was bothering him. Although that cute blush still often appeared on his youthful cheeks, it was now accompanied by a sharp tongue and piercing eyes. God, it excited him to see the boy that way.

He returned to his flat after lunch, his afternoon free from classes. Unloading his school supplies the tall man allowed himself a stretch- hunching over his work really put a knot in his back. Slipping on his indoor shoes he shuffled over to the kitchen to put on the kettle when he saw the note on the counter.

Soubi frowned. He and Kio had talked about keeping their space uncluttered. He picked it up, and it took him a moment before the realisation of who's scrawl was on the paper.

Soubi.

Come see me- this is an order.

X

Long fingers were shaking as the fighter unit read and reread the note several times. It was Seimei, calling to him, seeking him. Even as he read it he could hear his original sacrifice's silken voice enunciating the short message and it sent shivers through him.

Ritsuka's order and Seimei's order clashed. Although Seimei hadn't said when to see him Soubi knew that the slim man didn't like to be kept waiting. A message like this was meant to be obeyed immediately.

He pulled out his phone. Orders had to be broken.


End file.
